Banding or encircling devices made of an elongated flexible band having ends fitted with adjustably interlockable means such that they can encircle a bundle of wires or clamp a hose on a pipe are available in a wide variety of forms and materials. This invention is concerned in general with banding and encircling devices made of plastics materials, preferably in one piece, and of a design that is suitable for production in large quantities and at low unit cost by a plastics-forming process such as molding. More particularly the invention relates to improvements which will enable such plastic devices to be used to clamp hoses on pipes with large clamping forces, to be installed reliably and quickly in mass-production operations such as automobile assembly, to be removed easily and quickly when and if necessary, without danger of destroying the device, and yet remain reliably in place until deliberately removed, and to be manufactured in large quantities and varieties of shapes and sizes, at low unit cost in a molding process.
Hose clamps made of plastic materials contribute to extending the life of an elastomeric hose clamped on a metal tube because, unlike a metal clamp, a plastic clamp can be made of a material that will expand and contract with the material of the hose, whereas metal clamps tend to bite into the hose. Yet, notwithstanding the desirability of making widespread use of plastic hose clamps, and the potential for supplying them in large quantities at low unit cost, existing designs have deficiencies which limit their use. Some such deficiencies are apparent in the examples of the prior art which follow.